In October, Mitchell Weiser transferred to the Algerian Football Federation to fulfill his dream of playing in the World Cup. But now the Bremen native is missing the first opportunity to join the Algerian national team.
In October, Mitchell Weiser caused a stir when he confirmed his transfer from the DFB to the Algerian Football Federation (FEF). “It was always a big goal for me to play in a major tournament. And I think I have a better chance of doing that with Algeria,” the Werder Bremen all-rounder had already considered in spring 2023.
The change of association, which was made possible by Weiser’s Algerian grandfather, has now also been officially completed with FIFA. The 30-year-old was hoping to be invited: “I have to play well and want to offer myself up.”
But those hopes have now been dashed for the time being. Weiser was not included in the FEF squad presented on Thursday afternoon for the two upcoming qualifiers for the Africa Cup against Equatorial Guinea (November 14, 2 p.m.) and Liberia (November 17, 5 p.m.). With four wins from four games, Algeria has already qualified for the tournament in Morocco in spring 2025.
Algeria’s national coach Vladimir Petkovic commented on the non-nomination of Weiser: “He is a player I was able to watch in Germany. He has a lot of experience and qualities. But I preferred to go other ways,” said the 61-year-old Swiss.
Niemeyer: “Would have been an award for his good performance”
No statement has yet been received from Weiser himself. However, the non-consideration is likely to be a bitter disappointment for the 30-year-old. After all, everyone around him had firmly assumed that he would be nominated. Peter Niemeyer, head of professional soccer at SV Werder, had confirmed on the TV show Sky90 at the end of October: “We received the invitation and he will travel to Algeria during the next international break and play for the national team.”
On Thursday, the news was met with confusion at the Weser. “Mitch received the information that he is not included. It’s a shame. It would have been an honor for his good performance,” Niemeyer told the fan portal DeichStube. The official also explained: “We had received an invitation from the association for him, from which one could conclude that it was the final nomination. Apparently, however, it was only the preliminary squad.”
From the U16 level on, Weiser played for the DFB’s youth national teams and celebrated the European U21 title in 2017, even scoring the winning goal in the 1-0 final against Spain. But he was not nominated for the German national team after that – which is why he decided to change associations.
